adder

deaf as an adder

Unable to hear anything. The deafness of an adder is referred to in the Bible. A: "I'm shouting, and he's ignoring me!" B: "Oh, he's deaf as an adder! Write down whatever you're trying to communicate to him."What are you, deaf as an adder? You hear me calling you for dinner, so get in here!

*deaf as a post

deaf. (*Also:as ~.) When my cousin was a teenager, she played her drum set without ear protection, and she was as deaf as a post by the age of twenty-five.Mark can't hear you even if you shout; he's deaf as a post.

deaf as a post

Also, deaf as an adder. Unable to hear or to listen, as in Speak louder, Grandpa's deaf as a post. The first simile has its origin in John Palsgrave's Acolastus (1540): "How deaf an ear I intended to give him ... he were as good to tell his tale to a post." It has largely replaced deaf as an adder, alluding to an ancient belief that adders cannot hear; it is recorded in the Bible (Psalms 58:3-5).

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